Fill up on knowledge and plants at festival

Saturday

Mar 1, 2008 at 12:01 AM

David HolmesMarion County Extension Service

We hope you've seen the advertisement, but if you haven't, consider this your reminder - and your invitation - to attend the Master Gardener Spring Festival next weekend at the Marion County Agricultural Center.
Spring may come late to the higher elevations of the Rocky Mountains, but in Central Florida, spring arrives early - about mid-March most years - and the Spring Festival is a wonderful way for gardeners to celebrate its arrival.
Like the airline that says they realize you have many choices as a customer and thanks you for choosing them as your carrier, so the Master Gardeners realize you have many options for how you might spend your weekend hours. With that in mind, careful planning has gone into the Spring Festival to be sure you get good value for spending time with us.
A first issue when traveling anywhere is parking. With a 13-acre parking area at the adjacent Southeastern Livestock Pavilion, you'll find plenty, and the Marion County Sheriff's Mounted Posse will be on hand to help direct you to a good spot.
Enter one of the two gates at the west end of the complex. Once you've parked, you can walk to the front entrance, or you can ride one of the trams that will take visitors to the front gate. Trams will run about every 10 minutes. Look for one of the tents that will indicate a tram pickup spot and remember which tent you embarked from for the return trip.
Once you arrive at the festival, there is much to see. Five garden seminars will be presented Saturday:
10 a.m. - Palms
Noon - Lawn Management
2 p.m. - Home Fruit Production
Two will be held Sunday:
11 a.m. - Water Conservation
1 p.m. - Small Trees for the Landscape
Plan your visit around one of the seminars in our air-conditioned auditorium.
The Master Gardeners have been working to spruce up the display gardens at the festival site. Plan to visit our shade garden, vegetable garden, herb garden and butterfly garden.
Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer questions about the plants, composting and garden cultural practices. View these displays and garner some ideas for use in your own landscape.
During your visit, you'll notice the Spring Festival has a theme - "Water Matters." Throughout the display, you'll find information to help you conserve the valuable water resources we enjoy in Marion County. Some will be things you can do right away; others will be food for thought - ideas you might use in future landscape endeavors to reduce water use.
One tent on site is dedicated to education and will feature displays from the orchid society, rose society, native plant society, camellia society, amaryllis study group, St. Johns Water Management District, Florida Yards and Neighborhoods, Marion County Clean Water Program, Ocala Parks and Recreation, UF publications and Master Gardener experts. Surely, in all this body of knowledge, you'll find answers to your landscape and garden questions.
Of course, a highlight of the Spring Festival is the commercial vendor area where visitors are offered a wide array of plants, garden accents and water features. More than 100 booth spaces will be occupied, allowing visitors to purchase plants directly from the grower.
Food vendors will offer selections to keep your energy up for all the hard work of thinking and shopping. 4-H members will be on hand to help get your plant materials to the plant pick-up area, which you can access with your vehicle. Remember, while these youth are a big help for our plant buyers, they work for tips.
A supply of melaleuca mulch will also be available for sale to visitors, and 4-H members will be on hand to help load it. Why not pick up a supply to put the finishing touches on your landscape project? You can buy mulch during business hours weekdays at the Agricultural Center, but you'll have to load it yourself, so take advantage of the Spring Festival labor force.
The Spring Festival opens at 8 a.m. Saturday, March 8, and runs until 4 p.m., while Sunday hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For the simple admission fee of $1, the Spring Festival is a bargain indeed.
The Ocala/Marion County area has a lot to offer those who enjoy the outdoors. The Master Gardeners like to think their annual spring show contributes to this in a positive way. Please come and share a part of your weekend with us.
David Holmes is director of the Marion County Extension Service (University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences).

As you think about attending, consider these do's and don'ts.
Do plan to attend one of the educational seminars
Do follow the guidance of the mounted posse to make parking easy
Do catch one of the trams to the front gate to conserve your energy for the vendor area
Do bring your landscape questions for the experts.
Don't bring pets - they will not be permitted
Don't forget to view the display gardens
*Don't expect T-shirts and crafts - this show is for serious gardeners.